Editing Delmarva Peninsula

{{short description|Large peninsula on the East Coast of the US}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{coord|38|30|N|75|40|W|region:US_scale:3000000|display=title}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Delmarva Peninsula
| image_skyline      = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_map          = Delmarva-Peninsula-MarylandES.png
| map_caption        = A map of the Delmarva Peninsula map with the [[Eastern Shore of Virginia]] (in yellow), the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland]] (in orange), and part of [[Delaware]] (also in yellow)
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1  = State
| subdivision_name1  = [[Delaware]]<br>[[Maryland]]<br>[[Virginia]]
| subdivision_type2  = Largest municipalities by population
| subdivision_name2  = [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]]<br />[[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]]
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population         = 818,000
| official_name      = 
}}

The '''Delmarva Peninsula''', or simply '''Delmarva''', is a [[peninsula]] on the [[East Coast of the United States]], occupied by the majority of the state of [[Delaware]] and parts of the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland]] and [[Eastern Shore of Virginia]]. 

The peninsula is {{convert|170|mi|km|0}} long. In width, it ranges from {{convert|70|mi|km|0}} near its center, to {{convert|12|mi|km|0}} at the isthmus on its northern edge, to less near its southern tip of [[Cape Charles (headland)|Cape Charles]]. It is bordered by the [[Chesapeake Bay]] on the west, [[Pocomoke Sound]] on the southwest, and the [[Delaware River]], [[Delaware Bay]], and the [[Atlantic Ocean]] on the east.

The population of the twelve counties entirely on the peninsula totals 818,014 people as of the 2020 census.

==Etymology==
In older sources, the peninsula between Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay was variously known as the Delaware and Chesapeake Peninsula or simply the Chesapeake Peninsula.

The toponym ''Delmarva'' is a [[clipped compound]] of [[Delaware]], [[Maryland]], and [[Virginia]] ([[ISO 3166-2:US#Current codes|official abbreviation]] ''VA''), which in turn was modeled after [[Delmar, Maryland|Delmar]], a border town named after Delaware and Maryland. While Delmar was founded and named in 1859, the earliest uses of the name Delmarva occurred several years later (for example on February 10, 1877, in ''The Middletown Transcript'' newspaper in [[Middletown, Delaware]]<ref>{{cite news |date=February 10, 1877 |title=Public Sale |url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026820/1877-02-10/ed-1/seq-2/ |editor1-last=Reynolds |editor1-first=Edward |work=The Middletown Transcript |volume=X |issue=6 |at=p. 2, col. 5 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |via=[[Chronicling America]]}}</ref>) and appear to have been commercial and [[boosterism|booster]]-driven; for example, the ''Delmarva Heat, Light, and Refrigerating Corp.'' of [[Chincoteague, Virginia]], was in existence by 1913<ref>''Annual Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia for the Year Ending September 30, 1914'' (Richmond, Va., 1915), p. 267.</ref>—but general use of the term did not occur until the 1920s.<ref>''See, e.g.'', Michael F. Mulrooney, ''The Delmarva Peninsula'' (Wilmington, Del.?: Hearn Oil Co., 1926): the earliest use of the name in a title, per [[WorldCat]].{{Original research inline|date=March 2022|certain=y}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Delmarva topo.png|thumb|Topography of Delmarva Peninsula]] 
At the northern point of the peninsula the [[Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line]] separates the crystalline rocks of the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] from the unconsolidated sediments of the Coastal Plain. This line passes through [[Newark, Delaware]], and [[Wilmington, Delaware]], and [[Elkton, Maryland]].  The northern isthmus of the peninsula is transected by the sea-level [[Chesapeake and Delaware Canal]]. Several bridges cross the canal, and the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] and the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel]] join the peninsula to [[mainland]] Maryland and Virginia, respectively. Another point of access is [[Lewes, Delaware]], reachable by the [[Cape May–Lewes Ferry]] from [[Cape May, New Jersey|Cape May]], [[New Jersey]].

[[Dover, Delaware]], is the peninsula's largest city by population. The main commercial areas are Dover in the north and [[Salisbury, Maryland]], near its center. Including all offshore islands, the largest of which is [[Kent Island, Maryland|Kent Island]] in [[Maryland]], the total land area south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal is {{convert|5454|sqmi|km2|abbr=on}}. At the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]] the total population was 681,030, giving an average population density of {{convert|124.86|PD/sqmi}}.

[[Cape Charles (headland)|Cape Charles]] forms the southern tip of the peninsula in [[Virginia]].

The entire Delmarva Peninsula falls within the [[Atlantic Coastal Plain]], a flat and sandy area with very few or no hills; the highest point in the peninsula is only {{convert|102|ft|m|abbr=on}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7190|work=Peakbagger|title=Stillpond Neck|access-date= February 19, 2014}}</ref> The [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]], found in the region southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, and just north of the northern edge of the Delmarva Peninsula, is a geographic borderland where the [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] region transitions into the coastal plain. Its Atlantic Ocean coast is formed by the [[Virginia Barrier Islands]] in the south and Cape Henlopen in the north, encompassing Ocean City, Maryland, and the Delaware Beaches from Fenwick Island to Lewes.
The peninsula has a [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'') according to the [[Köppen climate classification]]. According to the [[Trewartha climate classification]], the northern half has a temperate or [[oceanic climate]] (''Do'').

==Culture==
The culture of Delmarva is starkly different from the rest of the [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic region]] and is much like that of the [[Southern United States]]. While the northern portion of Delmarva, such as the [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] metro area, is similar to the urban regions of Philadelphia, the Maryland, Virginia, and "Slower Lower" Delaware counties are more [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] than their "mainland" counties.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/president/map.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=President Map|date=December 9, 2008|access-date= June 3, 2013}}{{Failed verification|date=March 2022}}</ref> It has been suggested that Delmarva residents have a variation of [[Southern American English]] which is particularly prevalent in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.evolpub.com/Americandialects/MidAtldialects.html |title= The Mid-Atlantic Dialects|work=Evolution Publishing|access-date=June 3, 2013}}</ref>

Delmarva is driven by agriculture and commercial fishing.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Pattrice |date=January 1, 2009 |title=Let the diversification of Delmarva's economy begin |url=http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090101/OPINION03/901010401/Let-diversification-Delmarva-s-economy-begin |url-status=dead |work=[[The Daily Times (Salisbury, Maryland)|DelmarvaNow.com]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213438/http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20090101/OPINION03/901010401/Let-diversification-Delmarva-s-economy-begin |archive-date=September 23, 2015}}</ref> Most of the land is rural, with a few large population centers, though tourism has been an important part of the region.

Delmarva has longstanding [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] roots, but now Protestants are more numerous, with Methodism being particularly strongly represented. Numerous Catholic churches dating to the 17th century are still operating, such as Old Bohemia Church, which is dedicated to [[Saint Francis Xavier]] in [[Cecil County, Maryland]]. There are several historically significant Episcopalian churches, such as Old Trinity Church in southern Dorchester County and Christ Church in [[Cambridge, Maryland]].

==Political divisions==
[[Image:Sediment in Motion at Ocean City.jpg|thumb|Sediment in motion at [[Ocean City, Maryland]]]]
The border between Maryland and Delaware, which resulted from the 80-year-long [[Penn–Calvert Boundary Dispute]], consists of the east–west [[Transpeninsular Line]] and the perpendicular north–south portion of the [[Mason–Dixon line]] extending north to just beyond its tangential intersection with the [[Twelve-Mile Circle]] which forms Delaware's border with [[Pennsylvania]]. The border between Maryland and Virginia on the peninsula follows the [[Pocomoke River]] from the Chesapeake to a series of straight [[Surveying|surveyed]] lines connecting the Pocomoke to the Atlantic Ocean.

All three counties in Delaware, [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]] (partially), [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]], and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]], are located on the peninsula. Of the 23 [[county|counties]] in Maryland, nine are on the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]]: [[Kent County, Maryland|Kent]], [[Queen Anne's County, Maryland|Queen Anne's]], [[Talbot County, Maryland|Talbot]], [[Caroline County, Maryland|Caroline]], [[Dorchester County, Maryland|Dorchester]], [[Wicomico County, Maryland|Wicomico]], [[Somerset County, Maryland|Somerset]], and [[Worcester County, Maryland|Worcester]], as well as a portion of [[Cecil County, Maryland|Cecil County]].  Two Virginia counties are on the peninsula: [[Accomack County, Virginia|Accomack]] and [[Northampton County, Virginia|Northampton]].

The following is a list of some of the notable cities and towns on the peninsula.
* [[Cambridge, Maryland]], is the county seat of Dorchester County and a busy port on the [[Choptank River]].
* [[Centreville, Maryland]], is the county seat of Queen Anne's County.
* [[Chestertown, Maryland]], is the county seat of Kent County, MD and the home of [[Washington College]].
* [[Chincoteague, Virginia]], is noted for its wild [[Pony|ponies]] and its beaches, administered by the [[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]] through [[Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge]]; the Atlantic Ocean side of the wildlife refuge is administered by the [[National Park Service]] as the southern portion of [[Assateague Island National Seashore]].
* [[Crisfield, Maryland]], is a notable source of seafood.
* [[Delmar, Maryland]], part of the Salisbury Urbanized Area, lies across the Maryland-Delaware border from its twin, [[Delmar, Delaware]], on the [[Transpeninsular Line]].
* [[Dover, Delaware]], is the Delaware [[List of capitals in the United States|state capital]] and the peninsula's largest city in terms of population. It is also the county seat of Kent County, DE and is home to [[Delaware State University]]. 
* [[Easton, Maryland]], is the county seat of Talbot County.
* [[Georgetown, Delaware]], is the county seat of Sussex County. Return Day, a [[wikt:biennial|biennial]] tradition dating back to the Colonial era, is held in Georgetown two days after [[Election Day]].<ref>[https://www.returnday.com/ Sussex County Return Day]</ref>
* [[Lewes, Delaware]], is the site of the first European colonization in Delaware, is nicknamed "the first town in the first state", and is a port city for the [[Cape May–Lewes Ferry]].
* [[Ocean City, Maryland]], is a popular beach and resort town.
* [[Princess Anne, Maryland]], is the county seat of Somerset County and the home of the [[University of Maryland Eastern Shore]].
* [[Rehoboth Beach, Delaware]], "the Nation's Summer Capital", has a sixteenfold increase in population from winter to summer.
* [[St. Michaels, Maryland]], is a popular tourist destination.
* [[Salisbury, Maryland]], is the county seat of Wicomico County, the second largest city in the peninsula and the lower peninsula's only [[Urban area#United States|urbanized area]]. It is known as the "Crossroads of Delmarva". It is home to the [[Salisbury–Ocean City–Wicomico Regional Airport]], the only airport on the peninsula with scheduled commercial flights.  The city is also home to [[Salisbury University]], a Maryland state university.  
* [[Seaford, Delaware]], the "Nylon Capital of the World", is the largest city in Sussex County.

At its southern tip, the Delmarva Peninsula is connected to [[Virginia Beach]] and [[Hampton Roads]], Virginia, via the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel]] which opened in 1964. The bridge tunnel is owned and administered by the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District]].

===Largest municipalities===

{{legend2|#CCF|[[List of capitals in the United States|State capital]] and [[county seat]] |border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}{{double-dagger|alt=State capital}}

{{legend2|#b4ddb4|[[County seat]]|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}{{dagger|alt=County seat}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!Name
!Type
!Population
! data-sort-type="number"|Area
!County
!State
!Settled
!Inc.
!Origin of Name
|- style="background-color:#CCF;"
| 1
| [[Dover, Delaware|Dover ‡]]
| Capital city
| 38,079
| 23.48 sq mi 
| [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]]
| [[Delaware]]
| 1683
| 1829
| [[Dover]] in Kent, England
|- style="background-color:#b4ddb4;"
| 2
| [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury†]]
| City
| 32,809
| 13.40 sq mi
| [[Wicomico County, Maryland|Wicomico]]
| [[Maryland]]
| 1732
| 1854
| 
|-
| 3
| [[Middletown, Delaware|Middletown]]
| Town
| 22,582
| 11.83 sq mi
| [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]]
| [[Delaware]]
|
| 1861
| Halfway between [[Bunker Hill, Maryland]], and [[Odessa, Delaware]]
|- style="background-color:#b4ddb4;"
| 4
| [[Easton, Maryland|Easton†]]
| Town
| 16,494
| 10.56 sq mi
| [[Talbot County, Maryland|Talbot]]
| [[Maryland]]
|
| 1790
| 
|- style="background-color:#b4ddb4;"
| 5
| [[Cambridge, Maryland|Cambridge†]]
| Town
| 12,285
| 10.34 sq mi
| [[Dorchester County, Maryland|Dorchester]]
| [[Maryland]]
|
| 1793
| 
|-
| 6
| [[Smyrna, Delaware|Smyrna]]
| Town
| 11,580
| 6.01 sq mi
| [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]]/[[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]]
| [[Delaware]]
|
|
| Ancient Greek city of [[Smyrna]]
|-
| 7
| [[Milford, Delaware|Milford]]
| City
| 11,353
| 9.87 sq mi
| [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]]/[[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]]
| [[Delaware]]
|
|
| Named for numerous mills around town
|-
|8
| [[Seaford, Delaware|Seaford]]
| City
| 7,861
| 5.30 sq mi
| [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]]
| [[Delaware]]
|
| 1865
| [[Seaford, East Sussex]]
|- style="background-color:#b4ddb4;"
| 9
| [[Georgetown, Delaware|Georgetown †]]
| Town
| 7,427
| 5.14 sq mi
| [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]]
| [[Delaware]]
| 1791
| 1869
| Commissioner George Mitchell
|- 
| 10
| [[Ocean City, Maryland|Ocean City]]
| Town
| 6,927
| 4.41 sq mi
| [[Worcester County, Maryland|Worcester]]
| [[Maryland]]
| 1875
| 1880
| 
|}

===Proposed state===
At various times in history, residents of the Delmarva Peninsula have proposed that its Maryland and Virginia portions [[Secession|secede]] from their respective states, merging with Kent County and Sussex County, Delaware, to create the state of Delmarva. A Delmarva State Party with this aim was founded in 1992.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gosier |first=Chris |date=February 20, 1998 |url=https://cnsmaryland.org/1998/02/20/would-be-secessionists-dream-up-the-state-of-delmarva/ |url-status=live |title= Would-be Secessionists Dream Up the State of Delmarva |publisher=[[Capital News Service (Maryland)|Capital News Service]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215080512/https://cnsmaryland.org/1998/02/20/would-be-secessionists-dream-up-the-state-of-delmarva/ |archive-date=December 15, 2018}}</ref> A combined population with the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia, with the aforementioned two Delaware counties, would be about 750,000, or 921,739 in 2020, roughly the population of [[South Dakota]]. Including [[New Castle County, Delaware]], the combined population would be 1,492,458 in 2020, roughly the population of [[Hawaii]] or [[New Hampshire]].

Legislative attempts to break away the Eastern Shore counties of Maryland and join them with Delaware were made several times. In November 1776, delegates from the Eastern Shore attempted to insert a clause into the [[Maryland Declaration of Rights]] that would allow the shore counties to secede from Maryland, with the clause being defeated 30–17. In 1833, the secession movement came close to succeeding: a Delaware resolution proposing the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland]] be absorbed into Delaware passed the [[Delaware Senate]] and [[Delaware House of Representatives]], then passed the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] with a 40–24 vote, but failed to be voted out of committee by the [[Maryland Senate]]. The following year, a Caroline County representative proposed allowing the Eastern Shore to secede via referendum, but the Maryland House of Delegates voted 60–5 to indefinitely postpone the measure, and that proposal was never taken up again. In 1851, Dorchester County delegate and future Maryland Governor [[Thomas Holliday Hicks]] proposed an amendment that would give the Eastern Shore the right to vote itself into Delaware, but the amendment failed 51–27.<ref>{{cite news |title=Secession movement has long history on state's Eastern Shore |newspaper=[[The Star Democrat]] |location=Easton, Maryland |date=March 18, 1994}}</ref>

{{Hidden begin
|titlestyle = background:#ccccff;
|title      = Presidential election results 
}}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+ '''Including the entirety of New Castle<br>County, DE and Cecil County, MD'''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/|title=Our Campaigns|access-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref>
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! Others
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2024|2024]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''50.9%''' ''394,993''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|47.4% ''367,806''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.7% ''13,899''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2020|2020]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''53.0%''' ''402,229''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|45.3% ''343,352''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.7% ''13,049''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2016|2016]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''47.6%''' ''322,702''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|47.2% ''320,387''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|5.2% ''35,135''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2012|2012]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''53.0%''' ''340,859''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|45.4% ''292,042''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.6% ''10,172''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2008|2008]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''55.5%''' ''354,566''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|43.2% ''276,438''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.3% ''8,324''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|48.4% ''279,880''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.6%''' ''292,716''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.0% ''5,567''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 2000|2000]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''51.0%''' ''251,836''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|45.8% ''226,268''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|3.2% ''15,766''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''48.8%''' ''202,681''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|39.8% ''165,360''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|11.3% ''46,940''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1992|1992]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''41.2%''' ''183,693''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|38.3% ''170,585''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|20.5% ''91,437''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1988|1988]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|41.2% ''157,129''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''58.2%''' ''222,013''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|0.6% ''2,452''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1984|1984]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|37.7% ''143,171''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''62.0%''' ''235,378''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|0.3% ''1,319''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1980|1980]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|44.4% ''156,436''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''48.5%''' ''170,788''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|7.2% ''25,251''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1976|1976]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''51.1%''' ''173,700''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|47.8% ''162,669''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.1% ''3,875''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|35.8% ''119,150''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''62.9%''' ''209,460''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|1.2% ''4,148''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1968|1968]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|38.0% ''118,585''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''45.1%''' ''140,933''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|16.9% ''52,896''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''59.6%''' ''173,647''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|40.3% ''117,394''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|0.2% ''549''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[U.S. presidential election, 1960|1960]]'''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|49.7% ''142,583''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''50.0%''' ''143,578''
|align="center" {{Party shading/None}}|0.3% ''751''
|}
{{Hidden end}}

==History==

=== Pre-colonization ===
Some studies have shown that Native Americans inhabited the peninsula from about 10,000 BC to 8000 BC – since the [[Last Glacial Period|last ice age]].

Recent research indicates that [[Paleo-Indians|Paleoamerican]]s inhabited Maryland during the [[pre-Clovis]] period (before 13,000 [[Before Present|BP]]). Miles Point, Oyster Cove, and Cator's Cove archaeological sites on the coastal plain of the Delmarva Peninsula help to document a pre-Clovis presence in the Middle Atlantic region. Thus, these sites suggest a human presence in the Middle Atlantic region during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://prehistoricterritory.org/pre-clovis-in-the-americas-conference-smithsonian-institution-washington-d-c/ |title=Pedologic and Geologic Protocols for Understanding the Archaeology of Exploration: A Middle Atlantic Pre-Clovis Case Study |last1=Lowery |first1=Darrin L. |last2=Wah |first2=John S. |date=<!--No date given.--> |website=Pre-Clovis in the Americas Conference – Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. |publisher=Institute for Archaeological Studies |access-date=March 7, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122141014/https://prehistoricterritory.org/pre-clovis-in-the-americas-conference-smithsonian-institution-washington-d-c/ |archive-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref>

In 1970 a stone tool (a [[biface]]) said to resemble [[Solutrean]] stone tools was dredged up by the trawler ''Cinmar'' off the east coast of [[Virginia]] in an area that would have been dry land prior to the rising sea levels of the Pleistocene Epoch. The tool was allegedly found in the same dredge load that contained a [[mastodon]]'s remains. The mastodon tusks were later determined to be 22,000 years old.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livescience.com/47289-mastodon-found-under-chesapeake-bay.html |title=Fisherman Pulls Up Beastly Evidence of Early Americans |last=Ghose |first=Tia |date=August 11, 2014 |website=Live Science |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122141003/https://www.livescience.com/47289-mastodon-found-under-chesapeake-bay.html |archive-date=January 22, 2022}}</ref> However, studies conducted on nearby Parsons Island demonstrate that the stratigraphy of the region is disturbed.<ref>Stanford, Dennis & Bradley, Bruce (2014). Reply to O’Brien et al. Antiquity, 88, 614-621.</ref> In addition several archaeological sites on the Delmarva peninsula with suggestive (but not definitive) dating between 16,000 and 18,000 years have been discovered by Darrin Lowery of the University of Delaware. These factors led Stanford and Bradley to reiterate in 2014 their academic advocacy of pre-Clovis peoples in North America and their possible link to [[Paleolithic]] Europeans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=O'Brien |first1=Michael J. |last2=Boulanger |first2=Matthew T. |last3=Collard |first3=Mark |last4=Buchanan |first4=Briggs |last5=Tarle |first5=Lia |last6=Straus |first6=Lawrence G. |last7=Eren |first7=Metin I. |date=June 2014 |title=On thin ice: problems with Stanford and Bradley's proposed Solutrean colonisation of North America |url=https://www.academia.edu/5119515 |format=PDF |journal=Antiquity |type=Debate |volume=88 |issue=340 |pages=606–613 |doi=10.1017/S0003598X0010122X |s2cid=131083970 |access-date=January 18, 2016 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

====Lifestyles====
Native settlements relocated as natural conditions dictated. They set up villages – scattered groups of thatch houses and cultivated gardens – where conditions favored farming. In the spring they planted crops, which the women and children tended while the men hunted and fished. In the fall they harvested crops, storing food in baskets or underground pits. During the harsh winter, whole communities would move to hunting areas, seeking the deer, rabbit and other game that kept them alive until the spring fishing season. When the farmland around their villages became less productive – the inhabitants did not practice [[crop rotation]] – the native people would abandon the site and move to another location.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.intercom.net/~terrypl/Native_Americans.html |title=Native American people of the Delmarva Peninsula |last=Plowman |first=Terry |date=October 1999 |work=Delmarva Millennium, Volume I |publisher=Thomson-Chesapeake |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103230721/http://www.intercom.net/~terrypl/Native_Americans.html |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |via=portfolio of work by Terry Plowman}}</ref>

====Populations====
The primary [[Native Americans in the United States|Indigenous peoples]] of the ocean side of the lower peninsula prior to the arrival of Europeans were the [[Assateague people|Assateague]], including the Assateague, Transquakin, [[Choptico]], Moteawaughkin, Quequashkecaquick, Hatsawap, Wachetak, Marauqhquaick, and Manaskson. Their territories and populations ranged from [[Cape Charles, Virginia]], to the [[Indian River (Delaware)|Indian River]] inlet in Delaware.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.assateaguepeople.org/assateague/history.html |title=History Page |website=The Assateague People |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031217122653/http://www.assateaguepeople.org:80/assateague/history.html |archive-date=December 17, 2003 |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref>

The upper peninsula and the Chesapeake shore was the home of [[Nanticoke language|Nanticoke]]-speaking people such as the [[Nanticoke people|Nentigo]] and [[Choptank people|Choptank]]. The Assateague and Nentigo made a number of [[Treaty|treaties]] with the colony of Maryland, but the land was gradually taken and those treaties dissolved for the use of the colonists, and the native peoples of the peninsula assimilated into other [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribes as far north as [[Ontario]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Tagle |first=Christopher |date=March 20, 2003 |title=The True Ocean City Locals |url=http://www.assateaguepeople.org/assateague/history.html |magazine=The Oceana Magazine |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031217122653/http://www.assateaguepeople.org/assateague/history.html |archive-date=December 17, 2003}}</ref>

Currently, the peninsula is within the traditional territory of the [[Piscataway people|Piscataway]], Nentego, and [[Lenape]] peoples.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/nentego-nanticoke/|title=Nentego (Nanticoke)|date=June 5, 2018|website=Native Land|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/piscataway/|title=Piscataway|date=June 5, 2018|website=Native Land|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/lenape/|title=Lenape Haki-nk|date=June 5, 2018|website=Native Land|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref>

===Colonization===
[[Image:feralpony.jpg|thumb|A feral pony of [[Assateague Island]]]]

In 1566, an expedition sent from [[Spanish Florida]] by [[Pedro Menéndez de Avilés]] reached the Delmarva Peninsula. The expedition consisted of two [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friars, thirty soldiers and an indigenous Virginia boy, [[Don Luis]], in an effort to set up a Spanish colony in the Chesapeake. At the time, the Spanish believed the Chesapeake to be an opening to the fabled [[Northwest Passage]]. However, a storm thwarted their attempts at establishing a colony.<ref name="Milanich1999">{{cite book |last=Milanich |first=Jerald T. |author-link=Jerald T. Milanich |year=1999 |title=Laboring in the Fields of the Lord: Spanish Missions and Southeastern Indians |url=https://archive.org/details/laboringinfields00mila |url-access=registration |location=Washington, D.C. & London |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press |page=92 |isbn=9781560989400 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |via=the Internet Archive}}</ref> The land that is currently Delaware was first colonized by the [[Dutch West India Company]] in 1631 as [[Zwaanendael Colony|Zwaanendael]]. That colony lasted one year before a dispute with local Indians led to its destruction. In 1638, [[New Sweden]] was established which colonized the northern part of the state, together with the [[Delaware Valley]]. Eventually, the Dutch, who had maintained that their claim to Delaware arose from the colony of 1631, recaptured Delaware and incorporated the colony into the Colony of [[New Netherland]].

However, shortly thereafter Delaware came under British control in 1664. [[James I of England]] had granted Virginia 400 miles of Atlantic coast centered on [[Cape Comfort]], extending west to the Pacific Ocean to a company of colonists in a series of charters from 1606 to 1611. This included a piece of the peninsula. The land was transferred from the [[James II of England|Duke of York]] to [[William Penn]] in 1682 and was governed with [[Pennsylvania]]. The exact border was determined by the Chancery Court in 1735. In 1776, the counties of [[Kent County, Delaware|Kent]], [[New Castle County, Delaware|New Castle]], and [[Sussex County, Delaware|Sussex]] declared their independence from Pennsylvania and entered the United States as the state of [[Delaware]].

In the 1632 Charter of Maryland, King [[Charles I of England]] granted "all that Part of the Peninsula, or Chersonese, lying in the Parts of America, between the Ocean on the East and the Bay of Chesapeake on the West, divided from the Residue thereof by a Right Line drawn from the Promontory, or Head-Land, called Watkin's Point, situate upon the Bay aforesaid, near the river Wigloo, on the West, unto the main Ocean on the East; and between that Boundary on the South, unto that Part of the Bay of Delaware on the North, which lieth under the Fortieth Degree of North Latitude from the Equinoctial, where New England is terminated" to [[Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore]], as the colony of Maryland. This would have included all of present-day [[Delaware]]; however, a clause in the charter granted only that part of the peninsula that had not already been colonized by Europeans by 1632. Over a century later, it was decided in the case of ''[[Penn v Lord Baltimore]]'' that, because the Dutch had colonized Zwaanendael in 1631, the portion of Maryland's charter granting Delaware to Maryland was void.

==Economy==
The peninsula was the premier location for [[truck farming]] of vegetables during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Though it has been largely eclipsed by California's production, the area still produces significant quantities of [[tomato]]es, [[bean|green bean]]s, [[Maize|corn]], [[soybean]]s—[[Queen Anne's County]] is the largest producer of soy beans in Maryland—and other popular vegetables.

The Eastern Shore is also known for its poultry farms, the most well-known of which is [[Frank Perdue|Perdue Farms]], founded in Salisbury. The [[Delaware (chicken)|Delaware]] is a rare breed of chicken created on the peninsula.

Tourism is a major contributor to the peninsula's economy with the beaches at [[Rehoboth Beach, Delaware]], [[Ocean City, Maryland]], [[Assateague Island National Seashore]], Maryland, and [[Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge]], Virginia, being popular tourist destinations.

[[Salisbury University]] also adds to the economic activity of the Delmarva, with an estimated $480 million in contribution impact. The University is the largest four year comprehensive on the [[Eastern Shore of Maryland|Eastern Shore]], and serves as the largest employer other than [[Perdue Farms|Perdue]] supporting an estimated 3,200 jobs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rush |first=Don |date=February 22, 2016 |title=Salisbury University: $480 Million Economic Impact |url=https://www.delmarvapublicmedia.org/local-news/2016-02-22/salisbury-university-480-million-economic-impact |website=Delmarva Public Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307225357/https://www.delmarvapublicmedia.org/local-news/2016-02-22/salisbury-university-480-million-economic-impact |archive-date=7 March 2022}}</ref>

===Media===
The area is served by four television markets. Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, Caroline and Talbot Counties in Maryland are primarily served by the [[Baltimore]], Maryland, designated market area and stations [[WBAL-TV]], [[WJZ-TV]], [[WMAR-TV]] and [[WBFF-TV]]. New Castle and Kent Counties in Delaware are served by the [[Philadelphia]], Pennsylvania, designated market area and stations [[WPVI-TV]], [[WCAU-TV]], [[KYW-TV]] and [[WTXF-TV]]. Sussex, Dorchester, Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset Counties are served by the [[Salisbury, Maryland]], designated market area, the only based on the peninsula. These stations are [[WBOC-TV]], [[WMDT-TV]], and [[WRDE-LD]]. Accomack and Northampton Counties are primarily served by the [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]]/[[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]] designated market area and stations [[WAVY-TV]], [[WVEC-TV]] and [[WTKR-TV]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.lyonspr.com/latest-nielsen-dma-rankings/|title = Latest Nielsen DMA Rankings &#124; Lyons Broadcast PR|date = January 18, 2017|access-date = November 2, 2017|archive-date = April 12, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180412071947/https://www.lyonspr.com/latest-nielsen-dma-rankings/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

==Transportation==
The peninsula has minor airports with few commercial carriers, as it is overshadowed by proximate major airports in Baltimore and Philadelphia. Its airports include [[Wilmington Airport (Delaware)|Wilmington Airport]] southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, [[Salisbury–Ocean City–Wicomico Regional Airport|Salisbury Regional Airport]] to the southeast of Salisbury, Maryland, and [[Dover Air Force Base]] to the southeast of Dover, Delaware.

Major north–south highways include [[U.S. 9]], [[U.S. 13]], [[U.S. 50]] and [[U.S. 301]]. Highways U.S. 50 and U.S. 301 run over the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge]] on the western side of the peninsula. U.S. 13 at the southern limit of the peninsula connects through the [[Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel]] to the main part of Virginia.

Until 1957, the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] provided service to the peninsula.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Pennsylvania Railroad, Table 65 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |date=December 1957 |issue=90 |pages=7 |publisher=National Railway Publication Company}}</ref> It ran the ''[[Del-Mar-Va Express]]'' day train from New York City, through [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]], [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], Delmar, [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]], and [[Pocomoke City]] to the [[Cape Charles, Virginia]], ferry docks and it ran the ''Cavalier'' counterpart night train. At that point, ferries ran to [[Norfolk, Virginia]].  In earlier decades branches ran to [[Centreville, Maryland]]; [[Oxford, Maryland]]; [[Cambridge, Maryland]]; Georgetown and [[Lewes, Delaware]]; and to [[Franklin City, Virginia]]. Today, the [[Delmarva Central Railroad]] provides freight and tanker transportation on the peninsula.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.carloadexpress.com/railroads/delmarva-central-railroad/ |title=Delmarva Central Railroad |website=Carload Express |date=November 8, 2016 |language=en-US |access-date=October 21, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730020142/https://www.carloadexpress.com/railroads/delmarva-central-railroad/ |archive-date=July 30, 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Delmarva Shorebirds]]
* [[List of railroad lines in the Delmarva Peninsula]]
* [[List of regions of the United States#Unofficial U.S. regions|List of U.S. multistate regions]]
* [[Wallops Flight Facility]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Delmarva Peninsula}}
* [https://delmarvausa.com/delmarva/ The Delmarva Peninsula]
* {{cite web |title=Assateague History |work=History of the Assategue People |url=http://www.assateaguepeople.org/assateague/history.html |access-date=March 3, 2005 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307171150/http://www.assateaguepeople.org/assateague/history.html |archive-date=March 7, 2005 }}
* {{cite web |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ma01.asp |title=The Charter of Maryland (1632) |website=[[Avalon Project]] |series=Colonial Charters |date=December 18, 1998 |publisher=[[Lillian Goldman Law Library]] |access-date=March 7, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225141719/https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/ma01.asp |archive-date=December 25, 2021}}
* {{cite web |url=https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va01.asp |title=The First Charter of Virginia (April 10, 1606) |website=[[Avalon Project]] |series=Colonial Charters |date=December 18, 1998 |publisher=[[Lillian Goldman Law Library]] |access-date=March 7, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106185119/https://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/va01.asp |archive-date=November 6, 2021}}
* [https://www.census.gov Delmarva Peninsula census tracts] United States Census Bureau
* [http://www.nanticoke-lenape.info/confederation.htm The Confederation of Sovereign Nanticoke-Lenape Tribes]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020725135742/http://piscatawayindians.com/ Piscataway Conoy Tribe]

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{{Maryland}}
{{Virginia}}
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{{Portal bar|Maryland|Virginia|Geography}}

[[Category:Geographical neologisms]]
[[Category:Geography of Kent County, Delaware]]
[[Category:Landforms of New Castle County, Delaware]]
[[Category:Landforms of Sussex County, Delaware]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Delaware]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Maryland]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Virginia]]
[[Category:Pre-Clovis archaeological sites in the Americas]]
[[Category:Regions of the United States]]
[[Category:1850s neologisms]]